Advice and Indecision: Canada and the Cuban Missile Crisis

摘要

The confusion surrounding Canada's response to the Cuban Missile Crisis is well documented. Canadian political leadership hesitated to close ranks with our closest ally in defence of the continent. However, by misinterpreting what could have been done, or blaming the lack of an approved Department of National Defence War Book as the chief culprit for the extended delay, the literature does not adequately account for the confused response. This paper will show that useable measures existed by which the Chiefs of Staff Committee could have raised service readiness levels without appealing to Cabinet. By accounting for the confusion evident at the highest levels of decision-making, the paper illuminates the degree of laziness in strategic thought that characterized the nation's war planning.